System And Method For Providing A Task Reminder Based On Historical Travel Information

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for providing a task reminder includes a monitoring module configured to monitor a location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user at predetermined time intervals for tracking historical travel information of the user and a data store for storing the historical travel information and for storing user specified task information that includes a task and a task location. The apparatus also includes a message module configured to generate a reminder of the task based on the user&#39;s historical travel information and a distance between the task location and a current position of the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/536,232titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A TASK REMINDER,” filed on Sep.28, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is here incorporated byreference. U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/536,232 titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORPROVIDING A TASK REMINDER,” is related to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/536,306, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A TASKREMINDER BASED ON TRAVEL HISTORY” (Attorney Docket No. I414) now U.S.Pat. No. 7,528,713, filed concurrently and commonly owned with U.S.patent Ser. No. 11/536,232 and the entire disclosure of which is hereincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Handheld electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs),mobile phones, digital cameras, and the like, offer mobility and avariety of services to their respective users. While they are typicallyconfigured to transmit and receive data to and from other devices via awired or wireless connection, most mobile communication devices can alsoprovide Internet access, maintain a personal address book, providemessaging capabilities, capture digital images, and place phone calls.Many devices, in particular smart phones and PDAs, provide a calendaringand/or “to-do list” service that allows the user to calendarappointments and to enter tasks directly into the device or into aservice in a remote server. The calendaring service can be configured toprovide a reminder of an appointment or task to the user at or near thetime the appointment has been scheduled.

Many mobile communication devices can also identify their respectivelocations within a certain range depending on the device and locationidentifying technique. Some devices can use a sophisticated positiondetermining system, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPSis a satellite-based radio navigation system that uses signals fromthree or four satellites to compute the current latitude, longitude andelevation of a GPS receiver in the device anywhere on earth down towithin a few meters. Other devices can use a location identifyingtechnique based on which base station is servicing the device, that is,the location of the device is within a range of the base station fromwhich a call is made. Other devices can use location identifyingtechniques based on triangulation between the device and at least twobase stations.

The device's location, typically represented by geospatial coordinates,can be used in a variety of ways. For example, a mapping service can usethe device's current location to provide street directions from thecurrent location to a desired destination location. In addition, astreet address or name corresponding to the geospatial coordinates canbe associated with a task or an appointment that is scheduled to beperformed at or near the location. For example, the user can associate atask on the to-do list, e.g., “pick up medicine,” with the streetaddress or geospatial coordinates associated with a task location, e.g.,the user's pharmacy. When the device detects that the user is within acertain distance of the task location, e.g., the pharmacy, the devicecan display a message reminding the user to perform the task, e.g.,“pick up medicine.” Alternatively, a reminder can be issued when thedevice detects that the user is near the task location and is travelingin a trajectory leading to the task location.

Location-based task reminders are useful for prompting the user toperform tasks that are located nearby. Typically, the reminders aregenerated when the user comes within a predetermined fixed distance ofthe task location. This can be problematic because, if the predetermineddistance is relatively large, e.g., 0.5 miles, and the user frequentlyspends time in the 0.5 mile region surrounding the task location, e.g.,the user lives or works in the region, the user can be inundated withmultiple reminders for the task. On the other hand, if the predetermineddistance is relatively small, e.g., 0.1 miles, and the user rarelyspends time in the region, let alone within 0.1 miles of the tasklocation, the device might not provide a reminder at all. Bothsituations reduce the usefulness and convenience of location-basedreminders.

To address this problem, some services allow the user to enter areminder distance when the user calendars the task and task location.This approach, however, may not be helpful if the user is unfamiliarwith the task location, or if another person other than the user iscalendaring the task for the user. In any event, requiring the user toprovide information in addition to the task/appointment and tasklocation can be time-consuming and inconvenient.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, an apparatus and method for providing a task reminder aredescribed. According to one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includesa monitoring module that monitors a location of a user via a mobilecommunication device associated with the user at predetermined timeintervals for tracking historical travel information of the user, and adata store for storing the historical travel information and for storinguser specified task information that includes a task and a tasklocation. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a remindermodule that calculates a novelty rating of a region that includes thetask location and a current position of the user based on the user'shistorical travel information. The novelty rating is related to ahistorical presence of the user in the region. The apparatus alsoincludes a message module that generates a reminder of the task based onthe novelty rating of the region and a distance between the tasklocation and the current position of the user.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method of providing a taskreminder includes tracking historical travel information of a user of amobile communication device by monitoring a location of the user via themobile communication device at predetermined time intervals, receivingtask information of the user that includes a task and a task location,and storing the user's historical travel information and user-specifiedtask information in a data store. The method further includesdetermining a novelty rating of a region that includes the task locationand a current position of the user based on the user's historical travelinformation, where the novelty rating is related to a historicalpresence of the user in the region, and generating a reminder of thetask based on the novelty rating of the region and a distance betweenthe task location and the current position of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings provide visual representations which will beused to more fully describe the representative embodiments disclosedhere and can be used by those skilled in the art to better understandthe representative embodiments and their inherent advantages. In thesedrawings, like reference numerals identify corresponding elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary task reminder systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2-4 are more detailed block diagrams illustrating the taskreminder system according to several exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for providinga task reminder according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary reminder moduleaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordetermining a novelty rating for a region according to an exemplaryembodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordetermining whether a reminder should be generated according to anexemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects will now be described in connection with exemplaryembodiments, including certain aspects described in terms of sequencesof actions that can be performed by elements of a computing device orsystem. For example, it will be recognized that in each of theembodiments, at least some of the various actions can be performed byspecialized circuits or circuitry (e.g., discrete and/or integratedlogic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), byprogram instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by acombination of both. Thus, the various aspects can be embodied in manydifferent forms, and all such forms are contemplated to be within thescope of what is described.

According to an exemplary embodiment, intelligent, situation-sensitivetask reminders are generated for a user of a mobile communicationdevice. In one embodiment, a task reminder can be generated based on atleast two factors: (1) a distance between the user's current positionand the task location, and (2) a novelty rating of the current positionwith respect to the task location. The novelty rating is a reflection ofthe user's historical presence in a region encompassing the currentposition and the task location. The more frequently the user visits oris present in the region, or the more time the user spends in theregion, the less novel the region is to the user, and vice versa.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the region's novelty ratingis low, i.e., the user has frequently visited the region or has spent alarge amount of time in the region, a reminder is generated when theuser's position is very close to the task location. On the other hand,when the region's novelty rating is high, i.e., the user has spentlittle or no time in the region, a reminder can be generated when theuser's position is near but not close to the task location.

For example, a user who lives in Cary, N.C. can be reminded of a task atthe Cary library when the user is within a block of or in front of thelibrary. Whereas, a user who lives 30 miles away in Chapel Hill can bereminded of a task at the Cary library when the user travels withinthree miles of the library, say, on a trip to the Cary Towne CenterMall; the rationale being that if the user rarely visits the region,then any such visit might be justification to try to complete the taskin the region. By considering the novelty of the region along with thedistance between the user's position and the task location, alocation-based reminder for a task in the region can be generated at amore useful and sensible time for the user.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary arrangement for atask reminder system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. One ormore network-enabled mobile communication devices 110, such as a digitalcamera/phone, PDA, laptop or the like, are in communication with areminder server 300 over a network 10. A data store 150 includes generalgeospatial information relating to a plurality of locations and isaccessed by the device 110 or the reminder server 300 over the network10. The general geospatial information 150 is typically publicinformation that can include geographical information 152 that mapsgeospatial coordinates to street names and building names. Thegeospatial information 150 can also include one or more directories 154that provide other information associated with street addresses. Wellknown mapping services (not shown) can use the geospatial information150 to generate traveling routes between two locations, and to determinea distance between two locations.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the system 100 includes means formonitoring a location of a user via a mobile communication deviceassociated with the user at predetermined time intervals, such as amonitoring module 200 that is in communication with the devices 110 andwith the reminder server 300 over the network 10. In an exemplaryembodiment, the monitoring module 200 monitors the location of the userin order to track the historical travel information of the user.

The system further includes means for receiving user specified taskinformation, which includes a task and a task location, and means forstoring user-specific information that includes the historical travelinformation of the user and the user specified task information. Forexample, in an exemplary embodiment, the monitoring module 200 isconfigured to store and manage the user-specific information in a datastore 220.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the reminder system 100according to an exemplary embodiment. Each device 110 includes circuitrythat can track a position of the device 110. For example, the device 110can include a position locator system 112 that tracks the position ofthe device 110. The position locator system 112 can be the well knownglobal positioning system (GPS) that utilizes satellites 140 (FIG. 1) todetermine the device's longitudinal and latitudinal position.Alternatively, the position locator system 112 can be configured toutilize one or more base stations 130 within communication range todetermine the device's location. Each mobile communication device 110also includes circuitry for communicating with the reminder server 300and monitoring module 200. For example, the device 110 can include acommunication interface 118 coupled to a user interface 120 andinput/output (I/O) module 114 that allows the user 120 to use the device110 to communicate with the server 300 over a wireless network 10 usingone or more communication protocols.

The monitoring module 200 can be a personal computer or other devicecapable of collecting, storing and managing data. The monitoring module200 can include a communication interface (not shown) to receive andtransmit data over the network 10. In one embodiment, the monitoringmodule 200 monitors the location of the device 110 at predetermined timeintervals in order to track the user's historical travel information222. The historical travel information 222 can include the number oftimes the user 120 is present at or near a location, the amount of timethe user is present at or near the location, the number of times theuser has changed his or her position between at least two locations,and/or the number of times the user has entered or exited a region. Thehistorical travel information 222 is stored in the data store 220 alongwith the task information 224.

The reminder server 300 can be a personal computer or other devicecapable of processing data. The reminder server 300 includes acommunication interface 302 to transmit and receive data over thenetwork 10. In one embodiment, the reminder server 300 is configured toretrieve user-specific information from the data store 220 over thenetwork 10 via the monitoring module 200.

The system 100 further includes means for generating a reminder of atask based on the user's historical travel information and a distancebetween the task location and a current position of the user. Forexample, according to an exemplary embodiment, the reminder server 300includes a reminder module 310 and a message module 320, which are bothcommunicatively coupled to the communication interface 302.

In an exemplary embodiment, the reminder module 310 is configured todetermine whether it would be useful to generate a task reminder for theuser based on where the user is currently positioned and the distancebetween the user and the task location. In one embodiment, the remindermodule 310 is configured to calculate a novelty rating of a region thatincludes the task location and a current position of the user. Thenovelty rating of the region is based on the user's historical travelinformation and is related to the historical presence of the user in theregion.

In one embodiment, the reminder module 310 determines whether a remindershould be generated based on a combination of the novelty rating of theregion and the distance between the user and the task location. When thereminder module 310 determines that a message should be generated, itcalls the message module 320, which is configured to generate and send atask reminder to the user.

The system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is but one exemplaryarrangement. In this arrangement, a “thin” mobile communication device110 can be accommodated because the historical travel information 222and task information 224 can be stored remotely and the functionality ofthe monitoring module 200 and the reminder 310 and message 320 modulescan be included in separate servers. Other arrangements can be designedby those skilled in the art. For example, in one embodiment shown inFIG. 3, the functionality of the monitoring module 200 and the datastore 220 can be included in the reminder server 300 b so that thereminder server 300 b securely manages the user-specific information220.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, the mobile communication device110 c can perform the functions of the reminder 310 and message 320modules and the monitoring module 200, and store the user-specificinformation 220 internally in the device memory (not shown). In thisarrangement, the reminder server 300 is not required. Variations ofthese embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, the functionality of the monitoringmodule 200 can be integrated with that of the mobile communicationdevice 110 and can be configured to transmit the historical travelinformation 222 to the reminder module 310, which stores and manages theinformation in the data store 220. In this example, the reminder module310 can also be configured to receive and store the task information 224directly from the mobile communication device 110, and can manage theinformation in the data store 220.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for providinga task reminder according to one embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1-4, theexemplary process begins when user-specified task information 224 isreceived and stored in the data store 220 (step 500). In one embodiment,the task information 224 includes a description that describes the taskand a task location that indicates where the task can be performed. Inaddition, the task information 224 can indicate a priority level, a timeframe in which the task should be completed, with whom the task shouldbe performed, and any other information related to the task, e.g.,prescription number, phone number to call, etc. The task location can berepresented by any one of the geospatial coordinates of the tasklocation, a street address, and a location name.

In one embodiment, the user 120 specifies the task information 224 usinga network enabled device, such as the mobile communication device 110,and sends the task information 224 to the reminder module 310 in thereminder server 300 or to the monitoring module 200 over the network 10via the communication interface 118. The task information 224 is thenorganized in a task list 226. In one embodiment, the task list 226includes at least one task and a reference to the associated taskinformation. The tasks can be sorted in the order in which they werereceived, by priority, by time frame, or by any other suitable factor.

Referring again to FIG. 5, in addition to receiving and storing the taskinformation 224, the location of the mobile communication device 110 ismonitored at predetermined time intervals and the historical travelinformation is stored in the data store 220 (step 502). In oneembodiment, an entire geographical area of interest is represented by aplurality of contiguous cells, where different cells do not overlap. Theuser's position can be identified by geospatial coordinates generated bythe position locator system 112 in the device 110 or provided by theuser 120 via the I/O module 114. The geospatial coordinates of theuser/device 110 can be used to identify the cell in which the user'sposition is located so that the historical travel information of theuser can be tracked.

In one embodiment, the monitoring module 200 monitors the device'slocation and collects the historical travel information of the user 222by querying the position locator system 112 in the device 110 at a fixedtime interval. For example, the monitoring module 200 can collect thetravel information 222 every two minutes. In another embodiment, themonitoring module 200 can collect the information 222 at a time intervalproportional to a velocity or expected velocity of the mobilecommunication device 110. For example, if the mobile communicationdevice 110 is installed in a car, the expected velocity can be based onthe average velocity of the car.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the monitoring module 200 keepstrack of the number of times the user 120 is present in a cell, theamount of time the user is present in a cell, the number of changes inthe user's position between at least two cells, and/or the number oftimes the user has entered or exited a cell boundary. This information,referred to above as the historical travel information of the user 222is stored in the data store 220.

According to an exemplary embodiment, after the historical travelinformation 222 is stored, the reminder module 310 considers a firsttask on the task list 226 (step 504). A novelty calculation module 312in the reminder module 310, shown in FIG. 4, determines a region thatincludes the user's current position and the task location (step 506).In one embodiment, the region is symmetrical and centered on the cellincluding the task location. Once the region is determined, the remindermodule 310 determines the novelty rating of the region based on thetravel information 222 of the user 120 (step 508).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determiningthe novelty rating for the region according to one embodiment. Theprocess begins when the novelty calculation module 312 retrieves thehistorical travel information 222 of the user 120 from the data store220 (block 700). In one embodiment, the information 222 can be retrievedvia the monitoring module 200. In another embodiment, a data manager 313in the reminder module 310, shown in FIG. 4, can retrieve theinformation 222 directly from the data store 220.

Once the information 222 is retrieved, the novelty calculation module312 calculates a global time (block 702) which is a quantification ofthe user's historical presence throughout the entire geographical areaof interest. In one embodiment, the global time is calculated byenumerating at least one of the total amount of time the user has spentin any cell, the total number of changes in the user's position betweenat least two cells, the total number of times the user has entered orexited any region, and the total number of times the user has beenpresent in any cell.

Once the global time has been calculated, the novelty calculation module312 calculates a region time (block 704), which is a quantification ofthe user's historical presence in the region. Similar to the globaltime, the region time can be calculated by enumerating at least one ofthe total amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region,the total number of changes in the user's position between at least twocells in the region, the total number of times the user has entered orexited the region, and the total number of times the user has beenpresent in any cell in the region.

The novelty of the region is then determined by dividing the global timeby the sum of the global time and the region time (block 706).Accordingly, as the region time increases, the novelty rating of theregion decreases, signifying that the region becomes less novel to theuser as the user becomes more familiar with the region. Conversely, whenthe region time is relatively small, the novelty rating of the regionincreases, signifying that the region's novelty to the user is higherwhen the user is less familiar with the region. Note that once thenovelty calculation module 312 has calculated the global time, the sameglobal time can be cached and used to calculate the novelty rating forother regions associated with other tasks on the task list 226, therebyimproving efficiency and performance.

Referring again to FIG. 5, once the novelty rating of the location isdetermined (block 508), the reminder module 310 determines whether atask reminder should be generated based on the novelty rating and thedistance between the current position and the task location (block 510).FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determiningwhether a task reminder should be generated according to one embodiment.The process begins when an attraction calculation module 314 in thereminder module 310, shown in FIG. 6, determines an attraction factorbased on the current position of the user 120 and the task location(block 800). In an exemplary embodiment, the attraction factor isinversely proportional to the distance, D, between the task location andthe current position of the user 120. That is, the attraction factor, A,increases as D decreases. In one embodiment, the attraction factor, Acan be represented by:

A=(1+D)⁻¹

In one embodiment, the distance between the current position of the user120 and the task location can be the length of a street route or ageospatial distance, i.e., “as the crow flies,” between the user 120 andthe task location. Alternatively, the distance can be represented by theexpected travel time between the current position of the user 120 andthe task location.

Once the attraction factor is determined, the reminder module 310calculates a task weight comprising a product of the attraction factorwith the novelty rating (block 802), and compares the task weight to apredetermined threshold value (block 804). If the task weight is greaterthan the threshold value, then a task reminder should be generated(block 806). Conversely, if the task weight is less than the thresholdvalue, the task reminder should not be generated (block 808). In thismanner, whether the task reminder is generated depends on both thecurrent distance between the user 120 and the task location, and thenovelty rating of the region to the user 120. For instance, when thenovelty rating for a region is low, the distance between the user andthe task location at which a task reminder is generated will be smallerthan the distance for a region having a higher novelty rating.

Referring again to FIG. 5, when the reminder module 310 determines thata task reminder should be generated (block 512), the reminder module 310can call the message module 320, which is configured to generate andsend the reminder to the user 120 via the mobile communication device(block 514). In one embodiment, the message module 320 can firstdetermine whether the user 120 is available to receive the reminder. Inone embodiment, the user 120 is available when she is actively using themobile communication device 110 or has recently used the device 110within a specified time period, e.g., 10 seconds. In one embodiment, themessage module 320 can call the monitoring module 200 to make thisdetermination.

If the user 120 is using or has recently used the device 110, e.g.taking pictures or sending messages to others, the message module 320can send a message that includes the task reminder to the user 120during use or immediately after the user 120 has stopped actively usingthe device 110. Otherwise, the message module 320 can wait until theuser 120 is available. In one embodiment, when the task reminder for atask has been sent, the message module 320 is configured to prevent asubsequent task reminder for the same task to be sent unless apredetermined time period has expired.

After the task reminder has been sent or when the reminder module 310determines that the task reminder should not be generated because, forexample, the task weight does not exceed the threshold value, thereminder module 310 determines whether more tasks remain on the tasklist 226 to be processed (block 516). If no other tasks remain, theprocess returns to monitoring the device's location (block 502).Otherwise, the next task is considered (block 518) and the processrepeats at block 506 where the task region is determined.

In one embodiment, when the message including the task reminder is sent,the device 110 receives the message via the communication interface 118and the message is displayed to the user 120 on the device's userinterface 120. The user 120 can respond to the task reminder explicitlyand implicitly. In one embodiment, the user 120 can respond positivelyby explicitly “accepting” the reminder using the mobile communicationdevice 110. Alternatively, or in addition to, the user 120 canimplicitly respond positively by traveling to the task location within acertain time period after receiving the message and optionally remainingat or near the task location for a period of time. Similarly, the user120 can respond negatively by explicitly “rejecting” the reminder or bymoving away from the task location.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the reminder module 310 canreceive or monitor the user's response to the task reminder and adjustthe threshold value based on the user's response. For example, in oneembodiment, the threshold value can be lowered when the user 120responds positively to the reminder and can be increased when the user120 responds negatively to the reminder. In another embodiment, thereminder module 310 can adjust the threshold value based on theimportance of the task, as indicated explicitly or by name. For example,the threshold value can be lowered as the importance of the taskincreases. In yet another embodiment, the threshold value can be basedon the time frame in which the task is to be completed where thethreshold value is lowered as the time frame becomes smaller.

The executable instructions of a computer program as illustrated in FIG.5, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 can be embodied in any computer readable medium foruse by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,or device, such as a computer based system, processor containing system,or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.

As used here, a “computer readable medium” can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice. The computer readable medium can be, for example, but is notlimited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared,or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablemedium can include the following: a wired network connection andassociated transmission medium, such as an ETHERNET transmission system,a wireless network connection and associated transmission medium, suchas an IEEE 802.11(a), (b), or (g) or a BLUETOOTH transmission system, awide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), the Internet, anintranet, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc (CD), aportable digital video disc (DVD), and the like.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that theconcepts and techniques described here can be embodied in variousspecific forms without departing from the essential characteristicsthereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are considered in allrespects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of theinvention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoingdescription, and all changes that come within the meaning and range ofequivalence thereof are intended to be embraced.

1. An apparatus for providing a task reminder, the apparatus comprising:a monitoring module configured to monitor a location of a user via amobile communication device associated with the user at predeterminedtime intervals for tracking historical travel information of the user; adata store for storing the historical travel information and for storinguser specified task information that includes a task and a tasklocation; and a message module configured to generate a reminder of thetask based on the user's historical travel information and a distancebetween the task location and a current position of the user.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the user's historical travel informationincludes at least one of a number of times the user is present at ornear a location and an amount of time the user is present at or near thelocation.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a remindermodule configured to calculate a novelty rating of a region thatincludes the task location and a current position of the user based onthe user's historical travel information, wherein the novelty rating isrelated to a historical presence of the user in the region, wherein thereminder module is configured to determine an attraction factor thatincreases as the distance between the task location and the currentposition of the user decreases.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein thedistance between the task location and the current position of the useris at least one of a length of a street route between the currentposition of the user and the task location, an expected travel timebetween the current position of the user and the task location, and ageospatial distance between the current position of the user and thetask location.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the region comprisesa plurality of contiguous cells and the reminder module is configured tocalculate the novelty rating of the region based on a region timecomprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in anycell in the region, a number of changes in the user's position betweenat least two cells within the region, a number of times the user hasentered or exited the region, a number of times the user has beenpresent in any cell in the region, and a random sampling of the user'sposition.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the reminder module isconfigured to calculate the novelty rating of the region based on aglobal time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user hasspent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between atleast two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited anyregion, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell. 7.The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the reminder module is configured tocalculate the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global timeby the sum of the global time and the region time.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7 wherein the reminder module is further configured to determinewhether a product of the novelty rating of the region and the attractionfactor exceeds a threshold value and wherein the message module isconfigured to generate the reminder of the task when the product exceedsthe threshold value and to transmit the reminder to the user via themobile communication device.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein thereminder module is further configured to adjust the threshold valuebased on the user's response to the reminder.
 10. The apparatus of claim9 wherein the reminder module is further configured to lower thethreshold value when the user responds positively to the reminder and toincrease the threshold value when the user responds negatively to thereminder.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the reminder module isfurther configured to adjust the threshold value based on at least oneof an importance of the task, wherein the threshold value decreases asthe importance of the task increases, a time frame in which the task isto be completed, wherein the threshold value decreases as the time framebecomes smaller, and a task name.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe message module is further configured to transmit the reminder of thetask to the user via the mobile communication device and to prevent asubsequent reminder of the task for a predetermined time thereafter. 13.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a mobilecommunication device comprising: a communication interface coupled to anetwork; and a position locator system configured to identify thelocation of the mobile communication device.
 14. The apparatus of claim13, wherein the monitoring module is configured to query the positionlocator system to identify the location of the mobile communicationdevice at least one of at a fixed time interval and at a time intervalproportional to at least one of a velocity and an expected velocity ofthe mobile communication device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe apparatus is a server comprising: a communication interface forcommunicating with the mobile communication device associated with theuser over a network and configured to receive user-specified taskinformation and the location of the mobile communication device.
 16. Amethod of providing a task reminder, the method comprising: trackinghistorical travel information of a user of a mobile communication deviceby monitoring a location of the user via the mobile communication deviceat predetermined time intervals; receiving task information of the userthat includes a task and a task location; storing the user's historicaltravel information and user-specified task information in a data store;and generating a reminder of the task based on the user's historicaltravel information and a distance between the task location and acurrent position of the user.
 17. The method of claim 16 whereintracking the user's historical travel information includes counting atleast one of a number of times the user is present at or near alocation, and an amount of time the user is present at or near thelocation.
 18. The method of claim 16 further comprising: determining anovelty rating of a region that includes the task location and a currentposition of the user based on the user's historical travel information,wherein the novelty rating is related to a historical presence of theuser in the region; and determining an attraction factor that increasesas the distance between the task location and the current position ofthe user decreases.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the distancebetween the task location and the current position of the user is atleast one of a length of a street route between the current position ofthe user and the task location, an expected travel time between thecurrent position of the user and the task location, and a geospatialdistance between the current position of the user and the task location.20. The method of claim 18 wherein the region comprises a plurality ofcontiguous cells and wherein determining the novelty rating of theregion further includes: calculating a region time comprising at leastone of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, anumber of changes in the user's position between at least two cellswithin the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited theregion, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in theregion, and a random sampling of the user's position; calculating aglobal time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user hasspent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between atleast two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited anyregion, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell; andcalculating the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global timeby the sum of the global time and the region time.
 21. The method ofclaim 18 further including: calculating a task weight comprising aproduct of the novelty rating of the region and the attraction factor;generating the reminder of the task when the task weight exceeds athreshold value; and transmitting the reminder to the user via themobile communication device.
 22. The method of claim 21 furtherincluding adjusting the threshold value based on the user's response tothe reminder.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein adjusting the thresholdvalue includes lowering the threshold value when the user respondspositively to the reminder and increasing the threshold value when theuser responds negatively to the reminder.
 24. The method of claim 21further including adjusting the threshold value based on at least one ofan importance of the task, wherein the threshold value decreases as theimportance of the task increases, a time frame in which the task is tobe completed, wherein the threshold value decreases as the time framebecomes smaller, and a task name.
 25. The method of claim 16 furthercomprising: sending the reminder of the task to the user via the mobilecommunication device; and preventing a subsequent reminder of the taskfor a predetermined time thereafter.
 26. The method of claim 16 whereintracking includes repeatedly identifying the location of the mobilecommunication device at least one of at a fixed time interval and at atime interval proportional to at least one of a velocity and an expectedvelocity of the mobile communication device.
 27. A computer readablemedium containing programming instructions for providing a taskreminder, the program instructions for performing a method comprising:tracking historical travel information of a user of a mobilecommunication device by monitoring a location of the user via the mobilecommunication device at predetermined time intervals; receiving taskinformation from the user that includes a task and a task location;storing the user's historical travel information and user-specified taskinformation in a data store; and generating a reminder of the task basedon the user's historical travel information and a distance between thetask location and a current position of the user.
 28. The computerreadable medium of claim 27 wherein instructions for tracking the user'shistorical travel information include counting at least one of a numberof times the user is present at or near a location, and an amount oftime the user is present at or near the location.
 29. The computerreadable medium of claim 27 further comprising instructions fordetermining a novelty rating of a region that includes the task locationand a current position of the user based on the user's historical travelinformation, wherein the novelty rating is related to a historicalpresence of the user in the region and for determining an attractionfactor that increases as the distance between the task location and thecurrent position of the user decreases.
 30. The computer readable mediumof claim 29 wherein the region comprises a plurality of contiguous cellsand wherein the instructions for determining the novelty rating of theregion further include: calculating a region time comprising at leastone of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, anumber of changes in the user's position between at least two cellswithin the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited theregion, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in theregion, and a random sampling of the user's position; calculating aglobal time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user hasspent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between atleast two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited anyregion, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell; andcalculating the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global timeby the sum of the global time and the region time.
 31. The computerreadable medium of claim 29 further including instructions for:calculating a task weight comprising a product of the novelty rating ofthe region and the attraction factor; generating the reminder of thetask when the task weight exceeds a threshold value; and transmittingthe reminder to the user via the mobile communication device.
 32. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 31 further including instructions foradjusting the threshold value based on the user's response to thereminder.
 33. The computer readable medium of claim 32 wherein theinstructions for adjusting the threshold value further include loweringthe threshold value when the user responds positively to the reminderand increasing the threshold value when the user responds negatively tothe reminder.
 34. The computer readable medium of claim 31 furtherincluding instructions for adjusting the threshold value based on atleast one of an importance of the task, wherein the threshold valuedecreases as the importance of the task increases, a time frame in whichthe task is to be completed, wherein the threshold value decreases asthe time frame becomes smaller, and a task name.
 35. The computerreadable medium of claim 27 further comprising instructions for: sendingthe reminder of the task to the user via the mobile communicationdevice; and preventing a subsequent reminder of the task for apredetermined time thereafter.
 36. The computer readable medium of claim27 wherein instructions for tracking include repeatedly identifying thelocation of the mobile communication device at least one of at a fixedtime interval and at a time interval proportional to at least one of avelocity and an expected velocity of the mobile communication device.37. An apparatus for providing a task reminder, the apparatuscomprising: means for monitoring a location of a user via a mobilecommunication device associated with the user at predetermined timeintervals for tracking historical travel information of the user; meansfor receiving task information of the user that includes a task and atask location; means for storing the user's historical travelinformation and user specified task information; and means forgenerating a reminder of the task based on the user's historical travelinformation and a distance between the task location and a currentposition of the user.